RAS combined with SWT is more effective than conventional rehabilitation in improving multidimensional spatiotemporal gait parameters (walking speed, cadence, affected-side step length) in post-stroke hemiparesis, and gave greater walking speed gains than SWT alone, while cadence and step length did not differ significantly from SWT alone.
Thirty hemiparetic stroke patients were randomized to RAS+SWT, SWT alone, or conventional rehabilitation, with no dropouts and a protocol described as feasible and safe.
A significant time-by-group interaction was found for walking speed.
RAS+SWT produced greater walking speed improvement than conventional rehabilitation and than SWT alone.
Cadence showed a significant time-by-group interaction, with RAS+SWT improving more than control.
Affected-side step length showed a significant time-by-group interaction, and RAS+SWT improved step length more than control on both sides.
For the limping index, there was a significant main effect of group but no significant time-by-group interaction.
The authors conclude that RAS+SWT is more effective than conventional rehabilitation for multidimensional spatiotemporal gait parameters, but advantage over SWT alone was limited to walking speed.
This small trial tested whether adding rhythmic sound cues (like a beat to walk to) to split-belt treadmill training, where the two sides of the treadmill move at different speeds, would help people with one-sided weakness after stroke walk better. Thirty patients were assigned to treadmill training with rhythmic cues, treadmill training alone, or conventional rehabilitation, for three weeks of five sessions per week. Nobody dropped out, and the combined approach was described as feasible and safe. The group that received both rhythmic cues and split-belt training improved more than the conventional rehabilitation group in walking speed, cadence (steps per minute), and step length. It also improved walking speed more than the treadmill-only group. For cadence and step length, the combined approach was not clearly better than treadmill training alone. The limping index did not show a significant difference in improvement over time between groups. This research suggests that pairing auditory rhythm with split-belt training may add benefit for walking speed after stroke. The study was small, with only 8 to 11 people per group, so the findings need confirmation in larger trials before firm conclusions can be drawn.
Du M, Zhang W, Xia L, Xia X, Qiu C, Zhan Y, et al.. (2026). Rhythmic auditory stimulation combined with split-belt treadmill training improves spatiotemporal gait parameters in hemiparetic stroke patients: a randomized controlled trial.. Frontiers in neurology. https://doi.org/10.3389/fneur.2026.1904812